Abstract

Background: Computers are considered as an integral part of everyday life in the present era. Computers are widely used for music to photos and banking to communication. Objectives: to determine the body mechanics of computer users during computer use, to identify the perceived physical health problems of the computer users and to find the relationship between body mechanics and perceived physical health problems of computer users. Materials and methods: the study was conducted among 174 bank employees of Udupi and Manipal who use the computer for longer duration. The data were collected through demographic proforma, body mechanics checklist and perceived physical health problems. Result: The majority (67.2%) of computer users was males with the most (54.6) of their BMI was within normal limit. Regarding body mechanics, 87.4% were reported have good position of hands, good back support (84.5%) and posture (82.2%), but, half of them sit in a same posture for more than one hour. They had the facility to adjust their table, computer, chair, keyboard and mouse as per their convenient. In perceiving physical health problems, tiredness of eye was the most common problem followed by eye strain, blurring and burning sensation, irritation and discomfort. Headache, shoulder pain and stiffness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, wrist pain was the frequent musculoskeletal problems. They also noticed that the grasping of the object is reduced because of lowered strength in their hand. Weak and negative correlation found was inferred as improvement in body mechanics results in decreased physical health problems. Conclusion: the problems of eye and musculoskeletal system were the common health problems of the computer users. Regular exercise, health checks and good ergonomics may contribute to reduced problem and improved productivity of computer users.